Walter “Cascao” Vital of GMA Cascao Jiu-Jitsu in Las Vegas, NV will be in Michigan for two seminars in early February.

The professor will teach a seminar in Flushing, MI at Advanced Martial Arts on Friday, Feb. 6 starting at 6 p.m. The address for the location is 6122 W. Pierson Rd. Flushing, MI 48433. For more information call 810-869-9717.

On Saturday, Feb. 7 Cascao will be at Victorious MMA in Troy, MI for a seminar starting at 1 p.m. The address for the location is 444 W. Maple Rd. Troy, MI. For more information call 248-688-9552.

Winners at the 2012 WPJJC New York trial. Photo: Dan Rod

On Sunday, Oct. 20 the last of the American trial winners will be chosen. Only given two chances on the west and east coast, this is the last opportunity to win a free, all-expenses paid trip to Abu Dhabi for the main event in 2014.

In previous years athletes from white to black belt earned their place in the roster for the Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship but winning a local tournament months prior. At the main event in April of 2012, competitors experienced the United Arab Emirates, competed alongside a slew of international Jiu-Jitsu athletes and some came home with thousands of dollars in cash prizes. Don’t miss your chance to do the same for 2014.

The price is $125 and for various divisions you must win at weight and also win the open weight divisions, which are divided into light and heavy. For black belt males and the brown/black belt female categories you only need to win the weight divisions. The open weight categories, however, offer a cash prize as well.

To register, click here. You have until midnight Monday, Oct. 14.

Names already set to compete include: Francisco “Sinistro” Iturralde, Renan Borges, Marcel Goncalves, Vitor Oliveira, Brian Morizi, Tyler Bishop, Tim Spriggs, Mansher Khera, Tammy Musumeci, Jena Bishop, Dominyka Obelenyte, Fabiana Borges, Samantha Faulhaber and more!

The location of the event is the Fitzgerald Gymnasium at the City University of New York Queens College: 6530 Kissena Blvd Flushing, NY 11367.

More information about the weight divisions, rules and prizes can be found here: www.apjj.org

Abu Dhabi Trials New York. Photo: Dan Rod

The New York Abu Dhabi WPJJC Trials are set for Oct. 20 at Queens College in Flushing, NY. The registration deadline is Monday, Oct. 14.

Compete for a chance to win a paid trip to the main event in Abu Dhabi next year. Prizes at the trial include cash and a Fuji gi for all competitors who win their division while the travel packages are given out to winners of specific divisions. The total of 23 packages will be distributed as shown:

Don’t miss your chance as time is running out. Registration for the East Coast USA trials ends Oct. 14.

To register for the Abu Dhabi – USA East Coast Trials go to www.apjj.org

Keenan Cornelius chegou com tudo na marrom, e venceu Roberto Tussa e a categoria até 92kg. Foto: Arquivo Pessoal

No fim de semana foi realizada mais uma etapa da seletiva do WPJJC de Abu Dhabi, nos Estados Unidos. Desta vez, a disputa foi em Nova York, no ginásio do Queens College, em Flushing. A nova geração da arte suave deu o que falar, e um dos craques mais badalados do torneio foi o faixa-marrom Keenan Cornelius (Lloyd Irvin), que venceu a categoria até 92kg e ficou com o bronze no absoluto.

Na semifinal, Cornelius e Roberto “Cyborg” Abreu fizeram uma grande luta, com direito a um calor do jovem talento. Cyborg venceu a categoria acima de 92kg, e foi prata no absoluto, ao parar apenas na pedreira DJ Jackson, parceiro de Keenan.

No vídeo abaixo, veja como Cyborg lidou com as posições mirabolantes de Keenan. E você, gosta do estilo do jovem craque?

Keenan Cornelius made it to brown belt on fire, beating Roberto Tussa in the under-92kg division. Personal archive photo.

Last weekend marked the latest round of US-based tryouts for the Abu Dhabi WPJJC. This time around it was Flushing, New York’s Queens College gymnasium that got treated to the action. And the gentle art’s new generation provided plenty to talk about, with one of the aces with the biggest buzz, brown belt Keenan Cornelius of team Lloyd Irvin, winning the under-92 kg division and taking bronze in the absolute.

In the semifinal, Cornelius came up against Roberto “Cyborg” Abreu in a riveting encounter where the young up-and-comer more than held his own. Cyborg won the over-92 kg division and was runner-up in the absolute, blocked from taking gold by Keenan’s teammate DJ Jackson.

In the following video, check out how Cyborg dealt with one of Keenan’s most dazzling positions. What about you, what do you make of the young grappling wizard’s style?